Reduce fares of Mumbai AC local trains, Sena MP urges in Lok Sabha

He was speaking in Lok Sabha recently. Shewale said the number of passengers travelling on the recently launched AC local trains is very low.

The railways is running these AC trains at a loss for a few passengers and on the other hand, those travelling in non-AC local trains are suffering and platforms are getting crowded.

“As a solution to this, if the railways reduce the fares of AC locals, then the ridership will increase and there will be no loss,” Shewale said.

He also demanded that mobile clinics be set up at every railway station in the city to provide immediate treatment to injured passengers. He suggested that more than 500 coaches be provided to ease the congestion in local trains, speed up the work to raise the height of platforms, etc.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched an additional 36 AC train services on Central Railway. However, the trains are not getting sufficient ridership and are mostly seen running empty or with handful of commuters.

The passenger association of Central Railway has also been demanding a reduction in fares since long.

Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of Upnagariya Railway Pravasi Mahasangh, had recently written to Minister of State for Railways, Rao Saheb Danve, making the same demand.

“The Air Condition train fare is not affordable to us and the railway administration is trying to impose these services on common commuters. The Railway Minister has announced that the passenger fares of AC locomotives will be reduced. However, nothing has happened so far. The local trains are running empty and at the same time, non-AC locals are getting huge crowd. The government must take steps to reduce the fare,” said Deshmukh.